Oliver sped home, leaving the lights of the city far behind him. Today had been emotionally draining; his conversation had just topped the day off. At least he could go home to Chloe and let her know where they stood.

As the road rushed by he remembered the awkward conversation in vivid detail.

Oliver sat in his office with a cold drink in his hands. He had text Bart two seconds ago, and was waiting for the familiar rush of wind to announce his friend's arrival. He had been dreading this talk all day.

"Dude, what's the emergency?"

Oliver jumped slightly at his friend's entrance. Even after all this time, he was still taken by surprise.

"No emergency, I just needed to speak with you before you headed home?"

Bart took a seat at Oliver's desk before propping his feet on it. "You're sounding kind of ominous there. You're starting to freak me out."

Oliver decided it was best to just put it out there, not pretty words. Setting his drink on the desk he looked at his friend squarely. "It's about Chloe."

Bart's feet were off the desk before Oliver could blink. "She okay?"

"She's fine," Oliver motioned for him to relax before continuing, " But there's something you do need to know."

Bart frowned in confusion. "Okay…"

"Chloe and I have been spending a lot of time together lately, and we've…become close."

"How close?" Bart folded his arms across his chest, his voice tight with tension.

"Between you and me, I'm falling for her."

"What about Chloe?"

"She feels the same way, but she's not willing to act on her feelings until she thinks you'll be okay with it."

"I'm not her keeper." Bart mumbled, staring at the pen he'd plucked from the desk.

"Your opinion means more to her than you think." Oliver tried to regain eye contact with his friend. "She doesn't want to upset you or the team."

"She'd refuse to date you because of me?"

"That's what she's told me. She won't do this without your blessing; you know how much her friendships here mean to her."

"Can't say I'm totally psyched. I'd always kind of hoped…ya know?"

Oliver felt sympathy for the guy. Chloe was a great woman; he couldn't blame Bart for his disappointment. The fact he was losing out to a guy that called him his brother probably didn't help either.

"You're sure she feels the same?"

"Yeah."

"Then I guess it's cool." Bart sighed before straightening himself up, "And I refuse to stop flirting, because I've earned that right. She's still my 'licious."

Oliver smirked. "Just not in front of me so much, okay?"

"Maybe you could do the same. Just until I get used to the idea. I might have said its fine, but too much PDA…it's just not cool right now."

"No problem."

"Then I guess we're cool here. I'll see you back at home."

Oliver wasn't surprised at him wanting a quick departure. He just hoped he really was going to be alright.

Bart paused as he stood. "Oh, I forgot. Hurt her, and you'll find yourself in the Himalayas, ass deep in snow. She deserves more than another broken heart."

Oliver felt slightly offended at the words. "I don't intend on hurting her."

"Good. Just had to make sure the threat was there."

"Thank you, Bart. Really; I mean it."

"Yeah. Just…give her everything she deserves." Bart said sadly before speeding from the room.

The look on Bart's face told Oliver he was completely serious.

Exhausted, Oliver threw his keys onto the hallway table and set down his briefcase. Rubbing his neck he walked further into his home, looking for signs of life.

"Anyone home?" He called out.

Expecting Chloe's happy voice from the kitchen or a grunt from Victor in the lounge, he was surprised to hear the distorted sound of yelling.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he followed the noise through the hallway. As he came to the door of the gym he realised the shouting match was coming from within.

Poised to open the door, it burst open before he could even touch it. A flustered man pushed past him into the hall. A gym ball flew from the room, narrowly missing the angry guy's head.

"What the hell!" Oliver shouted as the ball narrowly missed him too.

"I quit! No amount of money is worth this!" The man yelled at Oliver, while wildly pointing back to the gym.

Oliver cautiously walked into the room to see Chloe balancing on her good leg, her cheeks red with rage. She was beautiful when she was angry.

"I fired you! You can't quit, moron!" She yelled before trying to haul another ball at the physical therapist's direction. Oliver moved in time to dodge the shot, but the other man had long since stormed off towards the front door.

"What happened?" Oliver asked.

Chloe leant against the physical therapy table Oliver had hired for her rehabilitation. Throwing the equipment had left her off balance, and the pain she was feeling in her knee was unbelievable. She knew she had a tendency to snap when she was in pain, but she was sure this time she was completely in the right.

"The guy was patronising! He didn't listen to a single word I said!" If she was physically able to pace she would have. Instead, she pointed accusingly at the open door. "He was pushing too hard; his exercises have me in agony, and he wouldn't give me time to recover!"

"So you fired him." Oliver could understand her point. It was only her first session; she shouldn't have been pushed so hard.

"Yes!"

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "Chlo, as much as I understand why you did it, you really shouldn't just fire the guy who can help you heal."

"I did it and I am happy with my decision. That jerk was causing more damage than helping."

"So what's your plan now? Physical therapy is the only way you'll get home any quicker."

"He's left his list of exercises here. I'll do it myself."

Chloe tried to manoeuvre herself onto the table, but was failing. Oliver moved close to her before lifting her quickly onto the table.

She sighed with relief as she stretched the injured leg out in front of her. The swelling already seemed to have increased.

While she rubbed the painful joint, Oliver picked the list up from the table and looked it over. It was all pretty self-explanatory.

"You know what? I've had to nurse myself through some injuries in the past without expert medical attention." Oliver took off his jacket and removed his tie, throwing them on the foot of the table. "If you do this on your own you'll become distracted and forget to put in the work."

Chloe huffed at the lack of faith, even if he may have been right. She was about to argue, but the sight of Oliver undoing the top three buttons on his shirt, and rolling up his sleeves stopped the words from forming.

"Lie back. I think it would be a good idea to see this knee." Oliver gently eased her onto her back with his hand, before rolling up the leg of her work out trousers. She was suddenly very thankful that she had waxed the day before the crash as she felt his warm touch.

"I spoke to Bart today." Oliver said as he ran his hand slowly from her ankle, and up her leg.

Chloe continued to be distracted by the feel of his hands on her skin. "Oh?"

"As long as we keep the PDA to a minimum, he's fine with us."

Oliver gently began to massage the tense muscles in her leg, and every touch of his fingers felt like they were leaving an imprint. "And we're doing so well with that right now."

His fingers gently squeezed as they made their way towards her knee. She felt her pulse begin to increase; it was as if his innocent touches were teasing other parts of her body. That was, until his fingers found the swollen flesh of her knee.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry." He instantly apologised, "Your knee is so swollen; I'm surprised he had you try anything today."

"Believe me, it wasn't like this when I started." She sat up and began to roll the material back over her leg. "I told you the guy was a jerk."

"If you'd like, you're welcome to use my bath to help relax the muscles. It has jets, and they really help me if I've had a rough patrol. They might help you."

Thoughts of Oliver, wet and naked, rubbing soap over his body, ran through her mind.

"Chloe?"

The sound of his voice snapped her from her daydream. "I think I'd better stick to the ice for the moment. I've seen your tub, it's luxuriously deep, and I don't think there is any way I could safely get out of it without soaking my cast or falling on my ass."

Oliver laughed at the image she portrayed. "I guess volunteering to help you out would be inappropriate?"

Chloe merely cocked an eyebrow in response.

Oliver smiled as he handed her the crutch from the floor. "If you're feeling up to it, there is something I'd like to show you. To be honest, I should have done it yesterday. Think you'll be okay to walk to the end of the hall?"

It was hard to keep her imagination from going into overdrive. Since he had undone those buttons, she could think of a few things she'd like for him to show her.

"Chloe?"

His voice snapped her from her thoughts. Again.

"Sure. I just need a hand getting down from here."

Oliver helped her gently to stand, taking some of her weight until she had her crutch in place. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Lead the way."

Oliver had led Chloe out of the gym and towards a room at the end of the hall. The first thing she noticed was the lack of a door handle; instead there was a small electronic pad in its place. She looked up at Oliver with a furrowed brow. Chloe had never seen this room before; it had been Victor's project.

Smiling at her obvious curiosity, Oliver placed his thumb on the pad for three seconds. With a beep, the door slowly swung inwards.

Carefully making her way into the room, Chloe took in her surroundings. It reminded her of the JLA set up back at the Clock Tower, except here the monitors were no longer hidden.

"Aww, you wanted to show me your clubhouse. I'm surprised it's not boys only, complete with a secret handshake." She said mockingly.

"You're hilarious, Sullivan." He led her further into the room towards a large bookcase. "But this room isn't the one I wanted to show you."

Oliver slid the bookcase to the side easily, with one hand, as if it were on wheels.

In front of them was another door, this one made of metal. It too had a pad for thumbprint recognition.

"Go ahead. Put your thumb on it." He asked her.

A second after her thumb was pressed on the pad, the door slid open, revealing another room.

"It's a panic room." Of all the places to find one, the last place she expected to see a room like this was the unofficial headquarters of the JLA. These boys didn't hide, they fought.

"With everything that's been happening lately, I just want you to know that you are safe here, no matter what. Victor has given you access to both of these rooms, you're just as welcome to them as anywhere else in the house."

Chloe stepped into the room and looked around. There was food, water, a phone, a bed, a weapons cabinet and security monitors mounted onto the wall.

"I think it's safe to say Jodie Foster never had it half as good." She sat in the chair opposite the monitors, sighing as the pressure instantly eased from her knee.

"All you have to do is hit this button here…" Ollie said pointing to a large button on the wall before hitting it. The door slid shut and the lights and monitors instantly came to life.

He walked over to Chloe at the desk, and flicked on a panel. "You have access to the team's communicators from here in case the phone fails."

"I'm sure I won't need it. There doesn't seem to be much opportunity to be on my own lately."

Glancing over his shoulder at the closed door, he knelt on the floor before pulling her chair close to him. "Well, we're alone now…" He said with a small smile.

Smiling in return she pointed her finger at the door. "That's not quite what I meant."

He pulled the wheeled chair towards him until he was between Chloe's legs. "I think it's a point worth mentioning though. No one here but us."

Oliver cupped the back of Chloe's head with his hand, threading his fingers through her soft hair. Leaning forward he gently brushed his lips along hers; the small contact sending a shiver through her body.

"So, are you really going to give me a chance?" He asked as he looked into her eyes; their lips barely breaking contact.

She didn't feel the need to reply. Instead, she pressed her lips more firmly against his, confident in initiating a kiss between them for the first time.

She could feel his smile before he returned the kiss. In her mind she knew she would never get used to this. It was hard to understand that just maybe, Oliver Queen was hers.

As his lips moved against her own, coaxing her mouth open with his tongue, she hoped that she wouldn't be let down again. This had to be the start of something new, and maybe, if she was lucky, a healthy relationship.